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Chadster's Vacation Adventures: Final Edition!


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Nicely done Chad! Can't wait to see the knotts update!

 

Thanks! and soon my friend, very soon as in Sunday soon.

 

Once again- another beautiful trip report, and in so many ways.

 

I guess that is an example of what one can do when you have a reaaaaly big..... lens.

 

Oh, it's big alright, and can get bigger if I want it too...

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As promised, here is day 2 of WCB - KNOTTS!

 

This year Knotts went all out giving us two firsts for the park, a tour of Monte's Zoom machine and for the first time ever, allowed those other than maintenance staff sit in the infamous B&M "Ball", not to mention a bonus Roundhouse tour! As always lunch was awesome and despite a change in operating hours, the park went above and beyond by allowing front of the line access with an additional 30 minutes of ride time!

 

Here is an exert of what I wrote on their Facebook page that sums is all up

 

...(I would like to) express my gratitude to everyone who put forth an extraordinary effort into making this past Sunday's West Coast Bash the best ever. From being able to touch Monte's cable to sitting in the B&M "ball", the custom T-Shirts, lunch, gifts, and experiencing your most important asset, your amazing, friendly staff, a great time was had by all who attended...

 

Missed West Coast Bash Part I - SFMM ? Clicky

 

Don't forget to post your comments!

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As advertised, QueerRudie was up with the roosters to be first in line.

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Knotts had a full staff on hand to help in passing out the days crap. Well, it wasn't crap really. It was amazing! Free group photo, Free on-ride photo, Free T-Shirt, and lots of other things to numerous to mention! Thanks Knotts!

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"If you mess your pants while touching Monte, please go back to the hotel and change"

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QueerRudie was also first in line for tour #1

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Monte was connected to his rear wench so that he could be pulled out of the station and have his wheel replaced.

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Poly stew is on the menu today.

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Gather round parishioners, for you are about to have the most spiritual experience of your lives.

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And there it is, the holy grail.

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look at those lines, curves in all the right places

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In all of it's glory, the motor the spins the giant fly wheel

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Kent says "Here is my motor, it has over 1.5 million pulls, and to ensure we get another 1.5 million pulls, the mask is not allowed on property."

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And here is the infamous flywheel! Sexy

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Don't worry guys, this cable is not made by Intamin.

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Under Monte's skirt.

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The cable goes in here, and spins and spins and spins until the sensor says don't spin anymore. When it's told not to spin anymore the brakes are applied on the station end where a separate motor pulls the cable back into launch position.

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Rudie will never wash his hands again.

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Next Kent took us to see the original control panel.

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Looks like a panel.

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The gauges all read 0, which is a good thing, otherwise that would mean the ride was in operation, which would be a bad thing, because then we might have all had our hands, arms, and heads chopped off.

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The counter has clicked over once already.

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Noted.

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No Faults, music to my ears.

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This computer is used to check for programming etc. If it dies, the park will be forced to upgrade the ride system.

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Yay, spare parts!

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Going up the stairs to the station, we got up close and personal with the braking system.

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Now here is a shot you can't get during normal operation.

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At least it's good.

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This device pushes hard into the rear of Monte to make him go zoom.

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Here is the rear end cable pulley

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Wouldn't you love to be the one to push this button?

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All of these people were gathered round for the second service.

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Wake up!!

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We then got to sneak a peak inside Windseeker's naughty area.

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There was no wind being broken during pre-flight checks.

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Double Boob Credit!!!

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Next up was Silver Bullet

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"Welcome. This is my ball"

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So if Silver Bullet isn't silver, then why is it called Silver Bullet?

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"Please, step into my ball"

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How fortunate are we to be the only people, ever, outside of maintenance to be able to sit in this engineering marvel.

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"nerds..."

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I'm gonna run all you all down at a whopping speed of 2mph

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You can't get this shot everyday. I have to say sitting in that ball was my #2 highlight of the day.

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Hi JoJo and TJ!

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After the tours and some Xcel ERT, it was time to hit up a few other rides before lunch.

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After lunch we had to take a trip through the Calico Mine.

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errrm

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Chris' favorite thing to ride...

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And with that we bid farewell to Knotts. Thanks again Knotts and TPR for a great day! It was truly amazing!

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Chad, your photo report is pure win! And you, sir, are a whore. Just sayin. I hear you're thinking about a return to Cali. If you fail to visit Santa Cruz on your bounce back, I will hunt you down and make you iron and fold towels. I mean it!

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About a week before this years Academy Awards I made my way to Hollywood where I met up with SuperShawn and Shane for a personal tour of Hollywood that included a stop at Ripley's Believe it Or Not with tickets courtesy of PAL. Thanks Paul!

 

We started out by eating at Los Tacos in West Hollywood, a 24-hour Mexican Restaurant located next to a 7-11 in a small strip mall. The food there is pretty awesome and all made to order. A meal will set you back about $10 and is well worth it. I had a sampling of enchiladas(yummy) and tacos served with rice and beans. I'd hit it again.

 

After dinner it was off to find a free street parking spot next to Hollywood High and made our way to the Boulevard, my first ever trip and another mark off the bucket list. I was honestly surprised at how compact everything was, a definite tourist trap but worth going to experience it.

 

See for yourselves and don't forget to comment! Your comments, good or bad, keep me posting weekly!

 

Next Week - Disney's California Adventure, what happens after dark. Hint: It's not World of Color

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Here we are at Hollywood and something.

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Ever wonder what's inside? Well, we are about to find out. First ever visit to the franchise and armed with free tickets we were about to believe it....or not.

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Walking into the "Museum" we were greeted by this freak of nature. And of course the first question asked by the guys was "I wonder how big his ***k is"

 

Good question actually. We looked, but didn't find that exhibit on display.

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You are supposed to look at this and let it play tricks with you.

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Ancient artifacts!

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Hey look, it's another freak of nature, on a wicker chopper. Looks like something OCC would do, you know, something that's not practical and doesn't run?

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Another one of those things you are supposed to look at.

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Ok, this was effed up. Apparently is some country, somewhere, and some group of people, they tape up their feet to be pointed, and then they grow like that or something. I would just have invested in some PeeWee Herman shoes.

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And here we have a one eyed sheep, perfect for jihadists.

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But if the sheep is in use, they have a lamb

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And should it not be your lucky day, you can opt for this.

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Best.ShootingAttraction.Evar

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NBC and MSNBC

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Someone ate a crap ton of Starbursts to make this prom dress, shoes, tux...I wonder what else what got ate...

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Ladies. Single ones. Pay ATTENTION! This chair says I'm HOT!

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Shawn is cute!

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Boob credit!

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Shawn has a new man in his life and is all giddy over him.

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And then we come semi circle to Marilyn. Happy Birthday Mr. President.

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Not too windy today, besides, Shirley didn't have a skirt on.

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Look, it's the Betty Boob, er Boop patent copyright thingy

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yeah....

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um, no. Honestly while it was fun, it took us about 45 minutes to an hour to walk through. Glad we didn't pay 17.95...

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Did I mention that Hollywood Blvd is kinda tourist trappy?

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How about some stars, after all I came to look at fancy rock with names on it.

 

Will he win Celebrity Apprentice?

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It's too crowded up in here.

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Miss Piggy!

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Shawn found Dolly! I just wonder why they didn't install two for her...

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So let's walk around a minute. I wonder if this is where Tom Cruise lives?

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Best part of Hollywood.

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Strike a pose

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Where all the celeb's hang out, you know, Kathy Griffin, Regis, Bob Saget

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They were setting up for the Academy Awards and hot a lot of stuff blocked off, but here, we found a theatre.

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I'm not a smart man, but I'd say Jimmy Kimmel is taped over there. And here you can see the work going on. Union workers, takes them two weeks to setup barricades and mobile seating.

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Chinese Theatre, Finally! Another check of the bucket list!

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Shirley's famous!

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In super close proximity is the Kodak theatre, soon to be something else, because Kodak is broke.

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So there's Hollywood, right smack dab in the TMZ

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Comment if you know what American Graffiti is.

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Pretty neat all in all, but as I mentioned, it's a one and done thing really. The only other thing on my bucket list in the Hollywood area would be a TMZ bus tour, not sure why, I just want to do it. Maybe next year.

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Noted.

 

A fitting end to my Hollywood visit. Don't forget to comment!

 

Next week, Tron @ DCA!

Edited by chadster
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Well, we now know why it is called "Hollyweird"- and with the two of you there, more so.

 

I don't know what scared me more, the freakshow at Ripleys... or the Tower of Terror at DCA. Interesting photos, though- and very different to see the city at night.

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I'm commenting because I know what American Graffiti is.. Don't all car guys know?

 

Nice pictures. Even though I've been to Hollywood many times, it's not something I pay much attention to - kind of like living so close to In N Out.

 

But seriously, there are lots of things you took pictures of that I didn't know about.

 

 

 

 

Since it was in your caption, who knows what TMZ stands for (no googling, and it's not just the tabloid show)?

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Since it was in your caption, who knows what TMZ stands for (no googling, and it's not just the tabloid show)?

I guess no one knows...

 

John Denver sang Country Roads. John Ritter was on Three's Company and the Problem Child movies.

 

Opps. All that weirdness must of got to me.

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^ Damn.. I can't stand Harvey Levin.. but I guess nobody knows of the "Thirty Mile Zone."

 

And yeah, I know John Ritter from Threes Company/Problem Child.. and Bad Santa.

 

*checks IMDB.com - he's also in a bunch of other stuff I've never seen*

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^ Damn.. I can't stand Harvey Levin.. but I guess nobody knows of the "Thirty Mile Zone."

 

Harvey doesn't bother me all that much as his show and website provide for good entertainment at other peoples' expense.

 

But yeah, so now that people now what TMZ stands for, who here can tell us what it is?

 

Shall I give away a Ripley's travel guide thingy for the best answer? Even if it's wrong, creativity counts

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